13-year-old Donny Tuka was born with Dwarfism, growing up hasn’t been easy for him, he was bullied ridiculed and recently whilst doing his grade 5 at a local school in Kavieng, the bullying got so bad that he dropped out of school.
His adopted mum, Enlly Singan who has six kids of her own said that, Donny was a bright young teenager and even after leaving school he was still very much interested in learning new things.
“My kids are all in High Schools now, so I brought Donny to leave with me, he is my younger cousin sister’s son.”
“The father isn’t in the picture, and Donny used to live with his grandma, one time I brought him to my home for a visit and but he stayed and became a part of my family.”
“Every night, when my children did their homework and assignments, Donny would get his book and pencil and also work with them.”
“I could see his interest in learning but the bullying and teasing has made him lose interest in attending class.”
“I’ve always worried about him, I want him to have something to, something he can lean on when he’s older, so when I heard that the PNG Fashion and Design Week would come to Kavieng and run a 13-day training on Fashion and Design, I thought this is it.”
“I went back home and spoke with Donny and he was very interested too so I signed him up and here we are,” she said.
Singan said that she loved sewing but couldn’t design well and she thought to herself, “my son and I will start up our own brand and do business, he will design and I will sew.”
“So we came and registered, and the last couple of days have been amazing, learning new things and watching Donny, been comfortable, in class, learning a skill, its like the Lord has answered my prayers, for every mother will always worry about their children.”
“At the end of the day, we want to know that when we are gone, our children have something and can take care of themselves,” she said.
Donny who is very shy, said that he was excited and really loved the training.
The mother and son pair are two of 53 participants taking part in a 13-day fashion and design week festival training in Kavieng, New Ireland.
The program is funded by the PNG-Australia Partnership and supported by the National Youth Development Authority and the New Ireland Provincial Government and Administration.
Donny and his mum also thanked all those who made it possible for the training to come to Kavieng.
